Good News and Bad News of a Great Vintage

I have some good news for you if you like complex wines that are food-friendly and ageworthy. The 2016 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino may be the finest ever to come out of Montalcino. The bad news is that if you buy some and you don't lay it down for at least another 5 years, you are wasting a potentially life-altering, at least in terms of wine, experience.

To understnad this, let's take our travel to a new level of imagination. While we have taken many vicarious plane trips on this journey, today, we are going to go back in time to 2016 and travel to Montalcino.

In the heart of Tuscany in the province of Siena, we're going to go through Rome to get there. Upon exiting our private Airbus 330 that we flew today, we are greeted by an absolutely gorgeous late spring day. The sun is shining, the weather is warm, but not oppressively hot and there is a gentle breeze. Each of the four of us is picked up by separate drivers as we are each taking the trip north in Ferraris. 

As we head into Tuscany, we notice that our trip is taking us uphil more frequently than down and the hill into Montalcino is quite steep. The elevation here is about 570 meters (nearly 1900 feet) and the hill that is Montalcino affords the Sangiovese Grosso grapes wonderful mostly southwestern exposure and excellent drainage -- the keys to making magic with this grape.

We're planning to saty here throughout growing season. And, as we do, everything is perfect. This year, there is just enough rain, but mostly sprinkles as compared to heavier rains that casue problems to keep these grapes naturally irrigated. Afternoons feature bright sunshine almost every day and the late afternoon and early evening breezes are cooling the vines pretty significantly at night. This diurnal temperature change is going to give these wines tremendous acidity.

Fast forward to September and our fortune is even better than it was in late spring. When weather turns close to harvest, winemkers have difficulty finding ways for the grapes to preserve the acidity. Often, they pick earlier than they might otherwise like and the less mature grapes produce a less harmonious and balanced wine. But, that will not be an ussue this year. At Casa di GrapeoftheDay, every grape is being picked by hand at just the right level of maturity.

Fast forward to 2021 We're ready to sample the first wines of the 2016 vintage. Having been aged in neutral (used at least twice previously) Slavonian oak and then a little bit more than 3 years in bottle (3 years is required by DOCG regulations), our wines are ready to taste.

Wow, these wines are complex. We get somewhat dried violets, a smattering of potpourri, and lots of fruit including cherry, strawberry, blackberry, some dried cranbaerry, and then on the finish some notes of licorice or anise depending on your biases. Highly acidic and just tannic enough, this wine is just a bit astringent on the front palate, but it drinks oh so smoothly.

However, this isn't enough. If we were able to travel back in time, surely we can travel forward. Let's go to 2026 and open the same bottling. 

It has evolved. The fresh fruit is gone. It's been replaced with the classic dried figs of Brunello and notes of saddle leather after a long day on the trail. We get lots of candied cherry and blackberry to replace the fresher fruit of the younger wine and a mix of hazelnuts and rich chocolate on the finish that reminds one of a luxury version of Nutella.

Pair this wine with ... well pair it with almost anything. But, since we are in Italy, let's pair it with a classic Italian affetati of salumi  and local cheeses along with some olives and fig jams. And, we're going to follow it up with a vareity of local pasta dishes.

But, rememver the bad news. It's a superb wine young, but it's only an off the charts wine if we are patient. Ah, the benefits of time travel.


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